This Controversial Protest Sign Is Going Viral & It Makes A Great Point

Take a look at this protest sign. If you don't know exactly where that $41.6 million a year figure comes from, we're betting your first thought is "yaaasss." It was our first thought, too.

But the sign, posted by Reddit user GallowBoob, is a little more complicated than it seems. Yes, the government does spend $41.6 million on Viagra and $84.24 million on erectile dysfunction drugs overall, or at least it did two years ago according to CBS. But that money doesn't go toward any random man's ED meds. It's spent on men in the military, both active-duty and those who've retired as well as eligible family members.

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More than $84 million is still a whole lot of money for the government to spend on a medical problem that's seemingly unimportant to a man's performance in the military, but the military also pays for birth control for women. And that's why some Reddit users think this woman's sign is essentially "fake news."

While we'd argue that access to family planning is a little more important to women's jobs in the military than the ability to get an erection would be for men, that's besides the point.

The point this woman — who goes by @taammiiM on Twitter — is making, we think, doesn't really hinge on whether or not the government spends equal amounts of money on birth control as they do on ED drugs. The point is that so-called Trumpcare, aka "The American Health Care Act," aims to defund Planned Parenthood, mostly on the basis that PP offers abortion services. (Note: abortion is not covered by taxpayer dollars.)

Not everyone who identifies as pro-life believes that pregnancy is a God-given gift, but some do. And in that case, why aren't we asking men to take responsibility for their bodies in the same way we're asking women to? The sign this woman carries points to this problem, even if the actual figures might be a little off-base.